The focus is expected to be on America, where 20 million of BBC.com’s 50 million users are registered.

Luke Bradley Jones, who heads BBC Worldwide’s digital operations in the US and managing director of BBC.com, told PaidContent that the global iPlayer would enable the business to raise its prices.

He said: “Millions of people love Torchwood and would probably pay 10 bucks an episode rather than two bucks,” he said, referring to the price-ceiling imposed by iTunes.

The BBC iPlayer allows viewers to watch popular BBC programmes for up to seven days after they were first broadcast. It has received over 500 million requests to view BBC television programmes, like EastEnders, since its launch in 2007.

The international iPlayer plans, reportedly six months in development, will first require approval from the BBC Trust, the Corporation's governing arm.

In the meantime, BBC Worldwide intends to sell applications on several mobile platforms, where it sees "a much higher willingness to pay for content." Mr Bradley-Jones added that commercial BBC mobile apps will likely cost around $2 and arrive in the next few months.